It’s great.

As you’ll be able to barely see from my crappy cellphone photos, the NextBus system allows you to track St. Albert buses on their routes. You get up-to-the-minute results, allowing you to know if the bus will be exactly where it’s supposed to be at any given time.

I tried it out after an interview at the new Enjoy Centre (where Hole’s Greenhouses now reside). First up, the A21.

Checking the standard bus stop information I knew I had just missed an A21 and had to wait 30 minutes for the next one. So I walked along the route, knowing I would start the NextBus action when I saw the bus pass me on its way south before looping back to pick me up.

(Side note: Why the heck don’t you have sidewalks, St. Albert?)

The bus passed me, I took to my iPad and punched in the nearest bus stop number.

Then I waited.

I refreshed the page again, only to see the next bus was now 30 minutes away. Just as I was about to curse NextBus, St. Albert Transit, and the City of St. Albert (again, for the lack of sidewalks), I saw the bus pull out from around a few cars. Of course the next A21 was in 30 minutes, this bus was right on time.

My second test of the NextBus system in St. Albert came at the Village Transit Station, waiting for my ride back to Edmonton.

This time I checked out the nifty Google Maps feature. You can literally watch your bus make its way to you.

I saw from the scheduled time of arrival and the GPS prediction that the bus was going to be about 2 minutes late. That was pretty good for late afternoon traffic. It was also pretty good to know it was going to be late.

As NextBus informed me the bus was arriving I looked up from my iPad to see the bus to Edmonton pulling into the transit station.

Well done, St. Albert Transit.

Now just get some sidewalks out near the Enjoy Centre.

*****

If the bus was 10 or 12 minutes behind I wouldn’t necessarily be happy, but it would give me options. Depending on my surroundings, I could grab a coffee, stay in my office, not go outside into rain or snow or cold. Yup, this GPS bus tracking is a MUST for the Edmonton Transit System. I know, at first, it will be embarrassing to have people tweeting about how their bus is 8 minutes late, or 10 minutes early, or 40 minutes south on a route that doesn’t go south, but in time it will make ETS more efficient (if only through shame tweets).

The more people who know the transit system will be there when they need it, or be there when the real-time information tells them, the more people that will ride. I mean, I actually want to find a reason to go to St. Albert just to track buses.

(Photo: CTV Edmonton)

Hi Edmonton.

As news of the devastating fire in Slave Lake, Alberta continues to come in, you might be wondering what you can do, sitting here in non-burning Edmonton, to help folks in this northwestern Alberta town. There are a few things you can do. And they are really simple, but could mean a lot to someone who has lost everything.  (You also don’t have to feel any pressure to donate, we just want to let you know there are a few options out there in case you’re sitting like us, staring at the terrifying images of fire and burned-out buildings, feeling a lousy combination of terror, sympathy, and powerlessness.)

Just a quick note to anyone who hasn’t seen much on the story: Slave Lake, Alberta is a natural resources town (primarily lumber and forestry products) a couple of hours northwest of Edmonton. Dry, windy conditions have contributed to wildfires in Alberta, and the town was preparing for this as it became surrounded by fires. This weekend, the fires moved into the town, and everyone was ordered to get out last night.

The Red Cross (still helping Japan after its earthquake and tsunami) has its Alberta branch working on relief in Slave Lake. You can always donate to the Red Cross at its website.

#YEGHelps is also organizing collections here in Edmonton. You can donate household items and clothes. There are plenty of donation sites in Edmonton, and around the Capital Region.

You can let us know if there are any other donation drives or ways to help in the comments.

Days like this make me want to hire an edmontonian guidance counselor, just in case you guys need to talk about anything. :(

However! This sort of shock and awe will do little besides drive us all crazy, so if you’re as overwhelmed as I, you may want to consider (though, no pressure here, kids) donating to the Red Cross’ Japan Earthquake Fund. And it doesn’t have to be like a floppity-jillion dollars. While I know it can feel insignificant sending them $5, the reality is, were I in any kind of peril, the idea that a complete stranger on the other side of the world wanted to send me anything at all would be pretty staggering.

And I’d like to think that if we’ve learned anything here at the website, it’s that most of us just want to know that somebody sees us, somebody cares, and that we’re all in this crazy world together.  So, no matter how small a gesture you may think you’re making, it really counts.  I swear.

We're going old school to regin in our Internet bill.

We got word that our most prolific commenter, Derjis, somehow convinced Shaw that he was a respectable citizen who should be invited to one of their few town hall meetings about usage-based billing (UBB). (Shaw is among the Internet providers considering usage-based billing. Rogers and Bell also want to charge more when you go over your monthly bandwidth cap.)

We said “Hey, let us know what happens at the meeting.” He did. But since he was pretty convinced UBB was still coming we decided to save our bandwidth for watching 80s movies on Netflix.

So we dusted off the edmontonian telegraph and asked Derjis to file his report from the nearest Western Union office. What follows is our first (but perhaps not our last) report by telegram*.

*****

The Shaw thing turned out to be pretty much what I expected STOP Lots of Corporate Speak STOP Lots of reassurances they value us as customers STOP

*****

(At this point we realized Morse code was going to take all night. So we went for coffee. Upon our return we saw the telegraph spring to life, revealing Derjis’ report.)

*****

Their regional VP gave a speech that was fairly dismissive of peoples concerns over UBB trying to intimate that the big kerfuffle was mostly the doing of the small internet resellers out east STOP

Fearmongering with stats like 60 percent increase in internet traffic since July We can’t cope with growth like this STOP What happened in Canada between July 2010 and now that could explain that kind of anomalous spike in traffic STOP Netflix STOP

*****

There are a lot of angry nerds in Edmonton STOP

*****

We heard around 72 to 73 percent of Shaw customers use less than 20Gb of data each month STOP If every one of their users were to use their full allotted amount Shaw would be effed in the a STOP

Internet costs in Canada are some of the highest in the world STOP When asked why the Internets are so much cheaper faster and have unlimited data in the UK and Australia the VP tapdanced around the issue for a bit and went on about how expensive it is building a trunk line across farmers fields in the Prairies STOP Because there’s definitely not any wide open space in Australia STOP

*****

Your Shaw bill will be increasing in April STOP But only by a few dollars STOP That is on top of the forthcoming UBB measures STOP

*****

Some possible forms for UBB include buying bulk data STOP Like pay as you go cellphone minutes STOP Rolls your data over month to month STOP

Unlimited data is another option STOP With your speed throttled after you hit your cap STOP

Prorated billing based on time of day with either premium rates during peak evening hours or reduced rates during off peak hours STOP

The most likely scenario will be reshuffling and rebranding of packages with the ability to mix and match your data and speed packages. STOP So if you are happy with 5Mb per second but want a ridiculous amount of data that is a possibility STOP Conversely if you want 100Mb per second download speeds but only want to, like, check your email SUPER FAST you can pair it with a 5Gb data plan STOP

*****

I asked If the vast majority of Shaw customers are using half to one third of their allotted bandwidth why bother implementing bandwidth caps STOP Internet providers could raise them to 400Gb per month and that 72 or 73 percent of their customer base would still only be using 20Gb each month STOP

*****

(There was a pause from the telegraph. That gave us a writing break. But we waited to see if the math skills of Derjis had stopped usage-based billing in its tracks.)

*****

Answers leave me with feeling that UBB will absolutely be happening STOP I think they already know how they will roll it out. STOP They might implement one or two of the suggestions from the public but these UBB meetings aren’t really going to change their minds STOP

*We don’t actually have a telegraph

It was at least-25 outside as I set out to find out how some of our homeless cope with this extreme cold. My heels dug into the snow on the icy sidewalk and I blew clouds of white breath as I made my way down the side streets. My hair hung down in half-frozen icicles on either side of my face and my double layered coat crinkled as the frost attempted to inch its icy fingers in…According to the label, I was prepared for the ascent to Everest and up to -65!

Opposite the church…

The last time I had been to the step outside the church it was fall, and several men had gathered out there to enjoy the last warm temperatures before the winter chill. Tonight it was barren. All that remained was a sign telling people to gather up their belongings or the items would be tossed into the neighbouring dumpster.

Next to the Library…

I saw a young woman hugging the wall by the library who asked me for some money for something hot and she looked so very forlorn and cold. I thought she was not so very old and felt her desperation as we spoke a little. She likes that the library lets her stay for awhile to warm up. She likes to see the posters in the children’s section and sometimes takes advantage of community programs in the area, to get a bowl of soup and a hot coffee. “Jackie” bid me a good night and hoped that it would warm up soon.

At the gas pumps… I met Eddie.

There were plumes of steam and ice-fog crystals sparkling in the air as people lined up next to their vehicles to fill their gas tanks. There were arms batting together and feet stamping as they fought with hoses stiffened by the cold and icy weather. Getting gas takes such a long time, it seems: payment card into the slot, select the grade, and the process really begins. From my vantage point, beyond the concrete islands, I noticed a tall, lanky guy going from patron to patron. I watched him for awhile and figured out that he was asking the customers for money. It looked like a young woman with a big fuzzy coat gave him a few coins from her pocket.

I continued to watch. He didn’t see me. I wanted to wait and see what happened next, once he did. In no time, he made his way over and looked straight at me.

I asked him: “How are you doing this evening? Are you managing to stay warm?”

He answered but I couldn’t quite hear him.

“May I ask you a few questions about how you are coping with this really cold weather?”

“Sure lady.”

He told me he spends the nights in a laundry room in a nearby apartment building. One of the tenants allows him in secretly. He is grateful for this and knows that this young guy is putting himself, and his own accommodation, in jeopardy. He won’t tell anyone and hopes I won’t either. I assure him I won’t.

He was a cement labourer for almost 20 years and had been happily married. Sadly, about two years ago, the love of his life died. I saw the look that passed on his face as he told me.

“I am so sorry to hear that.” I said.

“Thank you,” he whispered.

More of the tale unfolded as he told me of his own frailty: sickness, surgeries to remove tumours, gangrene, and some teeth loss. He is very thin, and yet he has a certain presence that’s larger than his frame. He tries to keep clean as much as he can but doesn’t like going to shelters.

He has been homeless since around the time his wife died. He has not spoken to either of his two children since. His mother, who lives in B.C. took them in when he could no longer care for them, or himself, and he feels sad about that. He knows that they won’t bother with him as long as he is on the street and homeless. He told me about how old his wife would have been this year and that he himself is having a birthday in two days. He knew what the date was, and looked up as he talked about turning 51.

“I know I look older, and I scare some people,” he confided.

What followed was a litany of comments he hears: “Out, if you aren’t buying…You need to get something, not just hang around in here…We don’t need your business, get going…”

He said he didn’t really blame others but he really doesn’t want to scare people. He can’t help his pinched face, scraggly goatee, and missing teeth. He pulled off his toque, despite the cold, and I noticed his hair was sandy-brown, his eyes quite sunken.

I asked him what he did for fun. He laughed, “You mean like sex?”

He said he actually enjoys having a coffee, and talks with a few people around the neighbourhood I found him in.

I told him I appreciated him chatting with me. It didn’t escape my notice that some of the patrons at the pumps looked like they had questions about what this woman was doing talking with this fellow who had been after them for coins and cash.

He wanted to get a sub and a drink before going in for the night. He told me he didn’t drink alcohol as he couldn’t really handle it with all of his health problems. I asked him if I could give him a little something and he agreed. I passed over the money and we shook hands. He seemed surprised that I wanted to give him money.

I wanted him to know I appreciated him sharing a little of his story with me. We ended our conversation with him telling me his name was Eddie. Eddie with with an “I-E.”

“Good night, lady! –maybe we can talk some more sometime,” he called as he jammed his hands in his grey jacket and hurried off.

“Happy Birthday, homeless Eddie!” I was thinking, as we parted company.